The West is putting pressure on Pyongyang. The United States and allied countries accused North Korea on Friday, June 29, of violating arms control measures by selling, according to Washington, missiles to Russia used in the war in Ukraine.
US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood has denounced “illegal arms transfers” from North Korea to Russia as the two countries forge closer ties. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms these illegal transfers, which have contributed significantly to Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine,” Wood said ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the issue. North Korea’s arms and ammunition supply violates Security Council resolutions from 2006, 2009 and 2016 on the issue, he said.
Jonah Leff of Conflict Armament Research (BECAUSE), which tracks the use of weapons in wars, told the Security Council that it had found evidence of North Korean ballistic missiles being used in Ukraine. It added that similar missiles had also struck kyiv and Zaporizhia earlier this year.
Conflict Armament Research came to this conclusion “based on the unique characteristics of the missile – its diameter, the trajectory of the missile, the pattern around the fuse, the presence of Korean characters on some components of the missile, as well as other panels and components dating back to 2023,” Leff said.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia denied the accusations and opposed the presence of Ukraine and the European Union at the meeting. Moscow and Pyongyang forged ties with a mutual defense agreement ten days ago, during a visit by Vladimir Putin to the North Korean capital.
North Korea’s UN ambassador, Kim Song, told the Security Council that there was “no reason for concern” and that the signed agreement was aimed at “promoting progress” in relations between the two countries.
Washington has been joined by allies France and Britain in condemning North Korea’s arms shipments to Russia in violation of sanctions. Vladimir Putin has criticized the United States for its military support for Ukraine and said last week that he would not rule out sending weapons to North Korea.